My Newest Friend & Pet: Meet “Bubbles the 3rd”
Bubbles 3 now comfortably at home in my kitchen!
Jake came home from doing errands one day and this little guy was there to greet me. The first pet we ever had as a married couple was a red and blue beta fish named “Bubbles”. He hung out on the counter top in the kitchen at our apartment. We have not had a beta fish for a long time because we have other tanks and they are the type of fish that really need their own space and tank.
I am a big fan of animals and little critters, however, I don’t enjoy the maintenance part of fish tanks. Thankfully Jake handles that piece for me. I make sure Bubbles is fed and entertained, but otherwise Jake does any tank cleaning. Yes, I have conversations with my fish while cleaning or cooking in the kitchen! He is hard to get a picture of because he is either hiding or won’t stop moving. He is a beautiful red and blue long fin beta. Bubble the 3rd has even learned my tap means “time to eat”! Bubbles is the only pet that I get to feed consistently, the girls all feed and care for the all the other pets in the family. Bubbles is my cooking and cleaning buddy when Jake and the girls are not home or around!
Travel & Vacation: Exploring the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Atlanta, GA)
We’re having fun at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History!
We had a blast working our way through the various sections at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. They had one section that was very interactive, a lot of science, experiments, brain teasers, heritage, and more. We ended our visit at what I call the “fun zone”. It was like a giant indoor jungle gym with lots of things to do, see, and learn about. They did are really great job with this museum. Our kids really enjoyed it. We made it through the entire museum, we were there when they opened and left as they were closing. It was a full day of fun and learning.
Brina making a huge bubble
Jake made an hour glass shape bubble, neat!
Whoa Dad! That’s so cool! They loved this bubble activity!
Karlie giving it a whirl!
Brina stretching it out a long ways.
Opps that one popped before she got too far
Wow, Karlie!
Awesome bubble Brina!
Brina flipped the bubble ring over her head and she was standing inside the giant bubble
Karlie had to try being inside a bubble. Pretty neat.
Karlie having fun with the bubbles
Brina and Daddy trying out the next activity
Jake helping Brina do this one!
This one was pretty cool because I could stand on the other side and watch her do the whole activity. Karlie trying to figure it out.
Karlie doing the activity while Brina watches.
Brina doing the “Mirrorly A Window” activity
Karlie sitting across the room chatting with Brina – super cool!
Brina talking with Karlie from across the room. Even though it was noisy with others doing various activities and they were across the room from each other they could hear perfectly fine speaking in their normal voices because the acoustics were set up to carry the sound perfectly.
Weather station. Brina watching the tornado
Brina and Karlie checking things out
Brina wanted me to go up with her into the huge tree house so she could show me some of the neat stuff they had. It was really nice play area for the kids.
Brina jumping onto the swinging bridge just as I was about to cross….crazy girl! She makes me laugh. At least her dramatic jump give me a little bit of a warning.
Brina found this book in the tree house library, she thought it was so hilarious she had to show it to me.
As I was talking with Karlie and looking around for a few minutes I went to find Brina. This is where I found her back at the library reading another book. It makes my heart happy when I see my kids reading voluntarily. Love catching Brina enjoying a good book on her own.
Karlie and Brina exploring the ocean section of the play area.
Baby turtle coming over to say “Hi”
Karlie on the look out
Brina and Karlie had a great time at the museum. The time went by quickly, but we squeezed a lot of fun into the day together.
Karlie thought it was so cool she could sit in a dug-out canoe like the Native Americans used to do so many years ago.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Family Fun at Milford Lake
Having a blast with Nicko’s new bubble toy!
We started and ended our days at Milford Lake in our cabin at Acorn Resorts. All of my immediate family stayed in one cabin and several other family members were in cabins around us. We didn’t always see everyone in the morning, but everyone met back at our cabin for dinner together every night. During the day you would see a lot of family members swimming, on the boats, and doing various activities. We celebrated my nephews birthday the night before, but we saved the gifts to open in the morning. He was very excited!
Nicko opening his birthday gifts!
Very happy with his new shirt!
We moved the bubble fun outside!
Bubbles can be quite entertaining and fun!
Trying to catch and pop the bubbles!
Nicko’s LED Lighted Birthday balloons!!! The LED balloons are always a hit with the kids. We have had great luck with the illooms brand of LED Balloons lasting much longer than the package states. You can find a variety of styles at Walmart or online!
The girls made some cool glow stick designs to hang over their beds at night!
Love It – Village Naturals Foaming Bath
Jake and the girls gave me Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash, Aches & Pains Relief with Eucalyptus, Rosehips, and Chamomile earlier this year for Mother’s Day. I love it! 🙂 I never thought I would get so excited over bath items, ha! It wasn’t long before the girls were begging to try it out.
Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash gives you a lot of great long lasting bubbles. The girls are always asking to use this whenever they have a “long” bath because they love all the bubbles. One time they stayed in the bathtub for over an hour splashing around.
Our family has had a round or two of sickness since I received it. The Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash works really well for when you have a cold and are congested. You can find it in a lot of stores, including Walmart, or online. The best part it is only a few dollars and it lasts a long time. You only need a couple drops to get a bath full of bubbles.
Even though the girls and I have used this many times we are still on our original bottle. If your looking for a great bubble bath or body wash that will be a big hit with the lady (or kids) in your life you should check this out. It is a great way to relax after a busy day!
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
CVS: Spent $0.52 and Got $17 ECB’s Back!
CVS has a few great deals this week. I was happy to get some items this week for free with ECB’s plus I was able to utilize a few of my B1G1F coupons. I also picked up a couple products for an upcoming event! This week I was able to get the items for $0.52 plus tax ($3.24) making my out of pocket $3.79 and received $17.73 ECB’s to use on my next CVS purchase. Here is what I purchased this week.
- 1 – Biore Nose Strips – $7.50
- 1 – Biore Blemish Control Face Wash – $7.50
- 2 – Airwick Freshmatic Kits – $6.00 each
- 4 – Airwick Freshmatic Refills – $5.00 each
- 1 – Russell Stovers Chocolate Coconut – $0.74
- 2 – Lifesavers Mint & Winterfresh – $3.49 (B1G1F)
- 1 – Super Miracle Bubbles (16 oz) – $1.99
- 1 – CVS 12 Hour Nasal Relief – 4.89
Here are the coupons I used on the items.
- Used $7.50 Biore B1G1F Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $4.00 Airwick Freshmatic Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $4.00 Airwick Freshmatic Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $5.00 Airwick Freshmatic Refill B1G1F Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $5.00 Airwick Freshmatic Refill B1G1F Manufacturer Coupon
- Used $30.97 ECB coupons from prior purchases
I received $17.73 ECB’s back today:
- $10.00 ECB’s for Airwick Products
- $5.00 ECB’s for Biore Products
- $1.99 ECB’s for Super Miracle Bubbles
- $0.74 ECB’s for Russell Stover
This week I was able to save over $77 at CVS by purchasing these items and using coupons.
When you shop the CVS sales regularly and have ECB’s that you can roll over toward future purchases the bonus ECB’s start adding up (Green Bag Tags and Beauty Club). As you can see from my shopping trip today you don’t have to purchase a lot to save money when shopping at CVS. Plus you can use the additional ECB’s you receive towards your next purchase. You can pick and chose what is best for your family.
I would love to hear your CVS shopping story for this week! For those of you who shop regularly at CVS please share how you were able to save this week! Although the weekly ad sales are similar every family and situation is different so you may have found items better suited to your household. In your comment please feel free to share a link to your blog article showing us how you were able to save shopping at CVS.
Allergic Reaction to What?
A couple weeks ago I ran out of the dish soap I was using so grabbed the next bottle on the shelf that I had gotten with coupons. I was busy making supper for a new Mom so didn’t really pay attention too much as I was baking and cleaning the kitchen. When I got all the goodies packed up to deliver and was on my way I noticed that my hands were burning. With the cold weather lately my first thought was that they were probably chapped and needed lotion. I put some lotion on, visited the Mom, dropped off the meal and was on my way back home when I realized that my hands were getting worse.I started thinking about all the stuff I had done in the last few hours and realized it had to be the new dish soap. As soon as I got home I put benedryl cream on my hands and started reading the ingredients on the bottle trying to figure out what it was that made me react so badly. The amazing part is the bottle (even though it was a well known brand) didn’t list the ingredients just said “botanical” but it had a picture of a white flower and the soap was blue. A couple years ago I had a reaction to a flower shampoo that was blue as well so maybe it was the same type of flower or something about the blue color either way I would have to go through testing to figure out what it was that did it so for now my brother’s family has extra soap and I will avoid flower soaps that have a blue color.
Even though it has been a couple weeks my hands, although better, are a still a little rougher despite all the extra cream that I have put on them. It is amazing how one 10 minute dish washing session can effect even your hands if the soap doesn’t agree with you. I am grateful to have relatively few allergies compared to many people. Thankfully, the allergies I do have are manageable like avoiding blue soaps. Do you have allergies? How does it effect you?
